This invention relates to improvements in the functional design of electrical insertion devices such as key-like devices, credit card devices and identification tag devices and the like adapted for insertion into electrical receptacles. The invention is an improvement over the inventions of U.S. Pat. No. 4,297,569 issued Oct. 27, 1981 entitled "Microelectronic Memory Key With Receptacle and Systems Therefore", U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,125, issued Apr. 20, 1982, entitled "Improved Microelectronic Memory Key With Receptacle and Systems Therefor"; U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,966, issued Apr. 12, 1983 entitled "Receptacle For Electronic Information Key" and U.S. Pat. No. 4,436,993, issued Mar. 13, 1984 Electronic Key".
Electrical devices of various types have been proposed in which a master circuit or electrical operating system of some kind, such as a computer system, is activated by use of a portable device which is combined with the electrical system, as by insertion of the device into a slot or the like, to make electrical contact or connection with the system. This invention is concerned broadly with such portable devices and with such systems. However, it is specifically concerned with improved insertion devices per se which are inserted into the electrical receptacles of said systems. The devices carry an electronic circuit means which may take the form of a data carrying embedded circuit component. As already noted, such devices and receptacles therefor have been described in several patents and patent applications. The key-like devices of these aforementioned patent and patent applications retain a relatively large amount of data in a portable medium of small size. Very fast data access and data transfer rates are provided by electrical connection of such devices to a master electrical circuit means including a program memory and a processor by insertion of the key-like device into specially designed electrical receptacles.
It is a general object of this invention to provide improved insertion devices and a new method of manufacturing such devices.
It is a specific object of this invention to provide insertion devices in the form of credit cards and identification tags, preferred embodiments of which are referred to herein collectively as "devices of substantially flat form" or with similar language, or any other suitable form all of which are of improved and simplified design and manufacture. It is also a specific object of this invention to provide improved key-like devices.